but kyiv is big and it's sprawling, and the defenders have many advantages, which they're using. prayers aren't all they have. problems for the russians include rivers — notjust the mighty dnipro running through kyiv, but its tributaries and large areas of marshland that can hold up and bog down armies. at their headquarters, the generals running kyiv�*s defence invited us to their war room, and they sounded confident, like their president. they're tracking the two main russian thrusts — from the east and from the north—west — which they say are being attacked and have barely moved. we've heard a lot about this long russian convoy that was to the north—west of the city. what's happened to that? he answered, "that was a week ago. 0ur military hit it,